49

D.—2

May 16 to 19: Tine, wind S.W. May 20: Cold snow showers, wind S.E. May 21 to 26: Fine and frosty, wind S.E. May 27 : Fine* wind W. May 28 : Pine and mild, wind N.W. May 29: Slight rain, wind W. May 30 and 31: Fine, wind "W". and S.W. June Ito 3: Slight rain showers, wind S.W. and W. June 4: Slight snow showers, wind S.E. June 5 : Slight rain showers, wind S.W. June 6 : Slight snow showers, wind S.E. June.7: Slight rain showers, wind S.W. June 8 and 9 : Showery Bth, rain 9th; wind W. June 10 to 12 : Fine weather; wind N.E , S.E., S.W. June 13 and 14: Slight rain, wind N.W. June 15 : Rain all day, wind N.W. June 16 : Slight showers, flood; wind W. June 17; Showery, river high; wind S.W. June 18 : Fine, river very high ; wind S.W. June 19: Rain, wind N.W. June 20: Rain, wind N.W. June 21: Showery, wind S.W. June 22 to 25 : Fine, wind S.W. June 26 : Fine, wind W. Left the Gorge for Nelson—absent till August 27 ; and I conclude that during my absence the weather must have been very moderate, as I found my tents standing just as I left them. There has been snow since my return, but not any heavy fall." From conversations I had with Mr. Brough, Mr. Fowler, Mr. McArthur and others —the two last named being residents at about the same altitude as Tarndale —it appears that in the general average of years snow lies about 2 feet deep, but not for any length of time; this year has been most favourable, no snow having lain deeper than 4 inches, and Mr. Fowler drove a flock of 1,200 sheep through from the Upper Clarence to the Tophouse, arriving at the latter place on the 7th July. Of course there are exceptional years in which heavy falls do take place, but the last heavy fall remembered was in 1867, fifteen years ago, and then it lay 6 to 7 feet deep. The climate of Tarndale and the Acheron Valleys is very healthy, and there are some good large patches of land about Tarndale and down the Acheron. In all the high country, the apple, currant, and gooseberry thrive more than in the lower lands; as also do oats, swedes, and turnips. If the railway is made there is little doubt that all the open country will some day be taken up in small holdings, which will support a prosperous population, producing wool, farm and dairy produce, and crops of various kinds. The inland line would take all the traffic from the Upper Awatere, including the Upcott, Fairfield, Langridge, Muller, Middlehurst, and Molesworth Runs, all of which now send their wool down the Acheron via Saxton's Pass to Christchurch. Thus far I have been speaking of the inland route, and will now proceed to describe the East Coast route, from Waipara to Blenheim. East Coast Line. —This line, from Waipara to the Conway River (fifty-seven and a half miles), presents few difficulties in the way of railway formation. From Waipara the line would traverse the flat valley of the Omihi, passing Glenmark Station at a distance of about four miles, and, rising gently, cross the saddle of the Omihi at twelve miles and a half. A mile or two further on it passes Cabbagetree Flat, and follows down the valley of the Greta to 4he Hurunui. The Greta is a rough gorgy stream, and falls very quickly at last into the Hurunui. (I think with Mr. Foy that a better line might be got by going down the Waikari from the Omihi Saddle and following it down to the Hurunui.) From this point to the Conway the country is good for railway formation, except a rather steep fall into the Conway. The land is good all through from Waipara to the Conway, but it changes into rough hill ground from thence to the Kahautara. I went over a line lately surveyed by Mr. Dobson from the Conway to the Kahautara; found pegs at every five chains, and took aneroid heights on each. From these I have plotted the section, and have put what appear to be the best grades in red, and these cannot be much improved owing to the ridges all running out coastwise across the line of direction. The section shows in five and a half miles 157 chains of tunnelling, besides four gullies over 100 feet deep, and as many more 50 or 70 feet; then the line follows down the Orari Valley with an even grade for the last four miles to the sea at William Gray's. From William Gray's the line is surveyed along the beach to the Kahautara about seven miles. In this length there will probably be seven more tunnels, aggregating to about 51 chains, and the line, by the steep nature of the coast, is forced so near the sea that a large amount of protection in the shape of seawalling will be necessar} r. The general section of the coastline is rising at an angle of 50 or 60 degrees for half a chain, with perpendicular rock cliffs above. Mr. Foy, in his report, speaking of the country lying between the Conway and the Kahautara,, says : " The hills at once become broken and irregular, and the further you proceed in this direction the worse they become, and when the telegraph line leaves the Conway River the physical aspect of the country presents a series of steep ascents and rugged declivities, until the top of Riley's Hill is reached, whose height is about the same as Greenhills —viz., 1,450 feet, and not far from the sea, with a rapid descent into the Kahautara River. A railway line over such a country could not possibly be made without doing so regardless of cost A line by the coast is equally impossible. The hilly nature of the country may be inferred from the fact that, whether you take the direction of the coast or proceed up the river to the Campbell, there is no road for either horse or dray except the bed of the river It is therefore demonstrably certain that the main trunk line can never pass through the Cheviot Hills District; and it may with truth be said of the two competing lines (East Coast and Greenhills) that whilst one is just practicable the other is undeniably imprac-•i-ticable." This opinion of Mr. Foy's I thoroughly endorse. After passing the Kahautara the country is flat, or nearly so, to the Hapuka, which is a broad, rapid stream, flooding very high, and spreading over some 20 chains. The flat land extends another mile and a half, when it ends on the cliffs of the coast. At this part there will be considerable difficulty in forming the line, and Mr. Foy, in his report, says, " It will have to be constructed on timber framing for at least half a mile." From this point, to within two or three miles of the Clarence (about eleven miles), is along the beach, with many rocky points and bluffs, and it would be probably necessary to have three short tunnels, 3 to 6 chains long, and one of about thirty. The coast is now flat, with sandhills behind, from here to the Clarence, and is favourable for railway construction. The Clarence will require a bridge of about 8 chains long; the bottom is very rough, heavy boulders, and I do not think piles could be driven ; iron cylinders would probably have to be used. 7—D. 2.